Determinant factors in adopting mobile health application in healthcare by nurses

BACKGROUND: Mobile applications are among effective learning tools and have a significant role in transferring information and knowledge to nurses. The current study was carried to identify the factors affecting nurses’ use of practical health related mobile applications in education and patient interaction based on the combined Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI). METHOD: The study is a descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional method. The research population includes nurses working at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences hospitals, 150 of which were selected as the research sample using simple and available sampling. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed (α = 0.9). Data analysis was carried out using a correlation test and regression analysis by applying SPSS (v16) software. RESULTS: The findings show that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a direct and significant effect on the rate of using mobile applications by nurses (P value ≤ 0.01), [(β = 0.52), (β = 0.40)]. Other findings indicate that relative advantage, compatibility, trialability and observability, have a direct and significant effect on nurses’ use of mobile applications, while complicatedness does not have a significant effect. CONCLUSION: The current study identifies the effective factors in nurses’ use of health-related mobile applications based on an integrated model of TAM and DOI. Designers of mobile applications should consider these factors in designing and developing programs so that mobile applications can successfully fulfill their purpose in healthcare. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12911-022-01784-y.